Observations

• observations?

  * can be overt or covert

  * can be ppt (where psychologist joins in) or non ppt (where psychologist observes from the side)
• (+) of observation?

  * lets psychologist observe for themselves instead of relying on ppts, potentially giving more reliable findings

  * naturalistic observations have high ecological validity

  * controlled observations make is easier to establish cause and effect

  * overt are more ethical

  * ppt observations give psychologist more insight into situation

  * non ppt observations are more objective
• (-) of observations?

  * psychologist naturally has observer bias

  * naturalistic observations make it difficult to control extraneous variables

  * controlled observations create artificial situations

  * overt suffer from observer effect

  * covert can be seen as deceptive

  * ppt observations make it difficult for psychologist to record data as they're taking part

  * psychologists can't normally ask questions in non ppt observations so just relying on what they can see